


Hey There Teacher

by obikin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teachers, English Teacher Obi-Wan Kenobi, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, M/M, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Robotics Teacher Anakin Skywalker, Slow Burn, i act like i know anything about star wars characters that aren't anakin and obi-wan, the one where the whole ass gang teaches at an elite tech high school
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22658719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obikin/pseuds/obikin
Summary: A new school year at Coruscant Tech always brought with it new challenges. Kids were hard to control, colleagues gossiped, and Obi-Wan always had to fight the STEM department for whatever scrap of funding he could find.What he didn't expect was that challenge to materialize in the form of a very young, very attractive robotics teacher.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 34
Kudos: 213





	1. a prologue

**Author's Note:**

> no, i cannot prevent myself from coming up with new AU ideas every waking hour of the day. no, you can't stop me either.
> 
> title taken from this verse in hey there cowgirl by palm springsteen:
> 
> hey there teacher  
> what's my assignment?  
> i like your rubric  
> oh please, degrade me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan meets his good friend Kit for drinks and gossip.
> 
> Kit does not disappoint.

A new school year often brought with it a plethora of new problems. Obi-Wan had learned this the hard way over his seven year stint with high school English.

It wasn’t so much the students that irked him. Yes, they tended to fare worse when it came to attention with each passing year, as they found new and creative ways to distract themselves with phones and laptops, but they weren’t the worst offenders. Kids were predictable – they tried to get on his nerves, and all Obi-Wan had to do was deflect them with a single well-placed sarcastic jab, and the whole class would be laughing with him, not at him. It had taken him years to learn, but now that he understood the strange creatures he was required to teach, he found little to complain about as the years passed.

No, when he found a bone to pick, it was typically with the administration, or the rumor mill that was the faculty.

Working at a technical high school, Obi-Wan’s AP English classes typically fell by the wayside. The administration was hyper-focused on pouring every taxpayer dollar they could get their hands on into STEM, and the students admitted to the school held about as much contempt for English and the arts as the administration did, after being fed the narrative that the only was to success was through a college engineering program. Obi-Wan and the rest of the humanities teachers tended to hold some biases when it came to those that taught in hard science and technical courses – such as engineering, mechanics, robotics, and computer sciences. This wasn’t because they couldn’t appreciate science – in fact, Obi-Wan found many of the topics covered in such classes to be fascinating, even if they were well outside of his wheelhouse.

The individuals that taught those classes, however, tended to feel the exact opposite. Obi-Wan could count on one hand the number of colleagues that taught STEM courses that he actually considered himself thoroughly acquainted with, much less friends. A great number of them seemed to look down their noses at the pursuits of Obi-Wan and the rest of the humanities teachers. He had even seen some of them snicker, watching Obi-Wan struggle to receive permission to simply hang up posters requesting art and creative fiction for a literary journal he was attempting to get off the ground. It was ridiculous.

That was why, at the end of the first week of set-up, before the students even arrived, Obi-Wan made sure to have a drink with his good friend Kit Fisto.

That’s where he was this very moment, a dark ale in his hand as Kit sipped at his own gin and tonic, both of them sharing some chips and salsa. Kit’s position as a biology teacher left him in a strange middle ground, as his profession was regarded as a “soft science” by some, and his laidback manner was controversial among some of his stricter STEM colleagues. But Kit was a kind man, who would be friend anyone who treated him with respect. Obi-Wan was one of the many that he had managed to forge a bond with at Coruscant Tech.

“So, I was just setting up my bulletin boards, yeah? You know I like to do some wild things with ‘em every year. This year I’m making the one in the back look like a big fishbowl – there’s plastic and 3d rocks – anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.” Kit paused to sip his drink, and Obi-Wan chuckled at the image of a huge fishbowl in the back of Kit’s classroom.

“Anyway, I’m wresting with the laminator I’d rolled in, and Ferus just storms in – practically knocks over one of the desks in the front – and stops in the middle of the room to just glare at me, man. Like-“ Kit attempts to demonstrated the glowering power of one Ferus Olin, and even though Kit’s has far too kind a face for it, Obi-Wan can imagine.

“And what was he upset about this time?” Obi-Wan grinned conspiratorially over his glass. The young physics professor was incredibly full of himself, and everyone could tell. Obi-Wan remembered last January when he practically had an aneurism when Asajj admitted that she hadn’t been using the standardized grading rubric he had designed for the entire physics department. He was so dead-set on meeting objectives and adhering to school policy that most of the veterans knew to stay as far away from him as possible

“Upset? The man looked like a fucking tomato, dude,” Kit took another swig of his drink. For such a big man, he really was a lightweight. “He looked at me like he had forgotten I existed or like, used that room or something, took this huge breath, then absolutely ranted about some new mechanics teacher.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “Upset that he’s not the young protégé anymore?” Kit snorted.

“Basically. He’s no longer Palpatine’s wonderboy. Apparently the new kid’s teaching one of the mechanics sections – like, the trade skill class, you know. Which makes sense. But they also have him on intro to robots, which made Ferus blow an absolute fuse.”

“Hell, he’s been begging for that position ever since he got here,” which wasn’t long, Obi-Wan knew this was only the man’s third year. But still, Ferus was rightfully irritated that he hadn’t been assigned the class when he had been vocally lobbying for it for every second of the three years he had been with the school. Of course, there was no reason for a full grown man to throw a temper tantrum, but Ferus to blow up vocally was very rare indeed.

“Yeah, and the icing on the cake is that apparently the new guy is gonna be sharing a room with Ferus. He waltzed right in and started setting shit up, and apparently Ferus just wasn’t having it. So instead of talking it over with the dude like two men would, he decided to run down the hall and scream in the biology lab.” Kit shrugged, and finished off his drink while Obi-Wan lost his shit just a little.

“Oh, I would love to meet the man that caused that chaos,” Obi-Wan joked, which earned him a laugh in return.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll meet him soon enough, if he’s as big a deal as Ferus says he is. Palpatine’ll probably parade him around at the first day meeting.” Kit groaned, and Obi-Wan responded in kind. Nobody expect for maybe Ferus and Mace gave a flying fuck about the long drawn out entire faculty meetings Palpatine held every year, where the young teachers were always recruited to present powerpoints on teamwork and new teaching strategies while everyone else imagined they were at the beach reading a nice book. At least, that’s what Obi-Wan liked to do.

“I am so looking forward to that,” Obi-Wan replied with an eyebrow waggle, demonstrating just how much he enjoyed Palpatine’s little meetings. Kit almost choked on his own spit when he laughed, and Obi-Wan joined him.

A new school year always came with new challenges – or that’s what Principal Palpatine would always say. Little did Obi-Wan know just how true this mantra would end up being.


	2. a chance encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan heads into the wilderness outside of the humanities wing to make copies. 
> 
> And stumbles right into the new robotics teacher.

Obi-Wan wasn’t fond of heading outside the relative sanctuary that was the humanities wing. There was truly no need for him to stray, as there was a teacher’s lounge available, a decent number of supplies, and good company in the form of his peers from the English and history departments.

But on days like these, when every teacher is scrambling to print materials for the start of the year, decorate their room, and gather necessary supplies, the humanities lounge was a warzone. Padme was already sprawled out across the small table, meticulously cutting out the profiles of various presidents to plaster across the walls of her government class. Qui-Gon had already jammed the printer, and both he and Bail were determined to fix the piece of junk.

Obi-Wan took one look at that mess and swiftly turned on his heel. Not today, oh no.

There was only one space outside the humanities wing that Obi-Wan would care to visit in order to solve this predicament.

The Makers’ Studio was located in the direct center of the building. The space used to be a daycare center, but once the new building had been constructed and the daycare center moved away from all the raucous students, it was the perfect space to be converted into the wonderous center it currently was. The Makers’ Studio was full of various high tech gadgets and do-dads that Obi-Wan wouldn’t dare touch, let alone use in his instruction. From the two 3d printers, to the VR headsets and the small robots available in the space, along with many more trinkets Obi-Wan wasn’t even privy to, the space was out of his comfort zone.

But, it also housed the two newest printers in the school, and not many people knew about them. They were tucked away in a back room, surrounded by instruction manuals for robots and tablets and the large screen in the middle of the Makers’ Space that could be converted into a table, if one so chose.

Luckily, Obi-Wan didn’t run into many other teachers whenever he entered the space. Usually he would meet maybe the librarian, or at times Asajj, who liked to use the 3d printers for her own personal projects, despite the school’s assertion that they were for educational purposes only.

The area was too high tech for the humanities, but too “cutesy” for the STEM department. And all that left was Obi-Wan and his copies.

Well, Obi-Wan, his copies, and some tall child sat in the middle of the floor, looking at the Lego robots as if they were the most wonderful thing he had ever seen.

Obi-Wan stood just inside the doorframe, watching this man sit cross-legged, remote control in hand as he piloted a small blue and white robot across the floor and directed it to pick up a marble.

The man had mid-length hair that blurred the line between brunet and blond, the strands wavy and wild. His attire, consisting of a T-shirt and sweatpants, would have convinced Obi-Wan he was a student that had somehow wandered into school a few days too early, except for the fact that the man clearly had no trace of baby fat anywhere on his body – broad shoulders and defined cheekbones visible even from Obi-Wan’s vantage point.

He had half a mind to turn right around and avoid bothering the man, but he really did need to make copies. Instead of just walking in and startling the man, though, Obi-Wan decided that instead he would clear his throat as he stood in the doorway, and startle the man that way.

He jumped, his hair bouncing as he did, and the robot dropped its marble. He stared wide-eyed at Obi-Wan for a second before bursting into laughter.

“Holy shit, you scared me there,” he laughed, still white-knuckling the remote. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

“I apologize for interrupting your, uh… work.” He teased back, which earned another laugh from the man, and a growing blush.

“No, no, I’m sorry, I’m probably in your way or something. I’ve just never seen something like –“ he gestured to all of the Makers’ Studio, and Obi-Wan smiled back at him.

“Yes, there’s a lot of it, isn’t there. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what most of it does, I’m just here to make some copies.” Obi-Wan held up his papers as the man scooped up the robots, clearing the space so Obi-Wan could walk past.

“There’s printers in here?”

“Yes, would you like 2D, or 3?”

That earned him a louder laugh from the man, the kind where even his nose scrunched up as he struggled not to snort. Obi-Wan struggled not to stare at him.

Obi-Wan was always very professional. He didn’t know if this man was some alum that returned to play with their robots, or, more likely, a new colleague. He had a policy to never date within his own school – which wasn’t put in place by administration, but rather of his own volition. Due to his own less than stellar experiences, as well as a desire to be able to focus on work, Obi-Wan tried to stamp down any less than professional emotions as soon as they surfaced. He didn’t have time for new, pretty teachers. Even if this man was adorable enough to make Obi-Wan’s heart ache after only laying eyes on him for a minute and a half.

“They’re in the back room over here. The humanities lounge is an absolute disaster at the moment,” Obi-Wan continued. Usually he wouldn’t talk so much, but he could admit that he was honestly nervous. He walked to the back room as casually and quickly as possible, willing the man to go back to his exploration, or whatever it was.

But, it turned out that the younger man was like a curious cat, and as soon as Obi-Wan entered the back room, a head of bronze waves peeked in as well. Followed by an unreasonably tall frame. Jesus Christ, was this man a model before he became a high school teacher? The students were going to eat him alive, never mind the teachers.

“Humanities lounge?” he asked, taking in the surroundings of the very small, very cramped back room. Obi-Wan tried to remain calm. This was a colleague, just another teacher. Soon enough the initial wave of attraction will pass and Obi-Wan will be able to act like a normal functioning human again.

But right now, Obi-Wan snorted at the question. Of course this man was from the STEM department. New, and he’s never even looked at the humanities wing.

“Yes, our Coruscant overlords graciously allocated a single printer to the entirety of the English, History, and Fine Arts departments.” Obi-Wan grinned to himself sarcastically. Oh, how he loathed working at a technical school.

“Really?” the new teacher looked taken-aback, and it just made Obi-Wan smile wider.

“Oh yes. You have much to learn,” he replied with a sage nod. The younger man still looked just as befuddled, his eyebrows scrunching together as he started to really think about the situation.

“Over where I’m teaching, we have maybe two, no, three-?”

“There’s three printers in the Science and Math wind, two in the Physics and Engineering wing, one in the Technical wing – need I go on?” Obi-Wan chuckled to himself as he selected the number of copies he needed and the machine hummed to life. The younger man blinked.

“That’s insane!”

“Well, we did used to have two printers, but Qui-Gon keeps breaking them, unfortunately.” Obi-Wan loved the man – he had overseen him when Obi-Wan had first interned, and taught him the lay of the land. Now, as if by fate, they were both stuck in the same shitty high school, and Qui-Gon hadn’t gotten any better with technology over the years, it seems.

“Qui-Gon?” he asked. Then he turned red again, eyes wide as he remembered. “Oh, fuck. I’m an idiot – I don’t even know your name!”

“Nor I yours,” Obi-Wan subtly jabbed back at the man, if only to see him blush more. It worked.

“God, I’m sorry. I’m Anakin Skywalker. I’m going to be teaching robotics and mechanics, and I have no idea what I’m doing.” He paused, still red as all hell, then his more subtle hand gestures started to pick up as Anakin became more nervous. “Well, I mean, I know about robots, and cars, but I’m just –“

“As soon as you try to talk to someone you plant your foot firmly in your mouth?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s it.” Anakin pressed his forehead to the doorframe as Obi-Wan tried not to cackle. He was adorable.

“Well, I teach English, so perhaps I can assist you in that matter,” Obi-Wan replied with a smirk, although he was mentally screaming. Curse him, curse him and his uncanny ability to unintentionally flirt with every attractive person he meets.

Luckily, Anakin just laughed sarcastically, face still pressed to the doorframe. Obi-Wan shook his head, still grinning (and screaming internally).

“Obi-Wan Kenobi. AP English, and Coruscant’s only creative writing course, as well.”

Anakin pressed against the doorframe to push himself away from it, and Obi-Wan most certainly did not stare at his biceps.

“That’s cool. I always liked when we got to write poetry and stuff in school.”

“Yes, well, there’s even less of that now. With all the informational writing requirements being implemented, sometimes I feel as if my students never get the opportunity to think for themselves.”

Anakin shrugged, his mind elsewhere.

“I don’t even know what mine’ll be like… it’s my first year.” He was sheepish, as if he wanted to retreat into his T shirt. Obi-Wan smiled kindly at him, even if it had been years since he felt the same.

“Yes, teaching at a new school is always a culture shock.”

“No, I mean, this is my first year teaching. Ever.” Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. So, the new teacher that Palpatine had hired, the one he had given the coveted position of robotics teacher, the one that was taking over Ferus’s classroom, was a first year teacher?

Either Palpatine was more of a sick fuck than even Obi-Wan had imagined, or this Anakin had to be some kind of miracle teacher.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Anakin ran a hand through his hair, and laughed nervously. “Yeah, I really have no idea what I’m doing.” He mumbled almost to himself.

“Well, if you do ever need anything, I wouldn’t mind helping,” Obi-Wan offered before he thought better of himself. He winced after he said it, but the look of hope in Anakin’s eyes made it worth it.

“There’s really no need, you’re busy teaching English, and-“

“No, I really don’t mind.” Obi-Wan lied. “It would be very difficult for you to adjust without some sort of help. Obviously, I won’t be as much help as someone from your own department –“

“No, no, it’s – thank you.” Anakin smiled at him and it looked like the sun. “I really appreciate it, Obi-Wan.”

His heart absolutely did not flip up into his throat. He absolutely did not almost trip over the printer.

And Obi-Wan most certainly did not just fall in love with the stupid, _stupid_ robotics teacher.


	3. the negotiators discuss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Padme notices that Obi-Wan is acting a little weird, and confronts him about it. a riveting argument ensues.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Padme looked concerned as she poked her head into Obi-Wan’s room. He was currently staring at his desk, low jazz music playing as it usually did in his classroom. However, by this point in pre-school yeah setup, Obi-Wan typically had his classroom in some kind of organized chaos. However, it most definitely was not – the bulletin boards were only half finished, he still had two more shopping bags to unpack, and he’d been staring at the same stack of papers on his desk for the past fifteen minutes.

Obi-Wan snapped out of his daze and whipped around to face Padme, finally. He was mentally slapping himself and probably blushing, because the reason why he was staring into space when he should be unpacking, or organizing, or anything?

He can’t stop replaying his stupid encounter with Anakin Skywalker in his head. Maybe it’s because of the unit he has planned on Petrarchan love poetry for his twelfth graders, but he’s really feeling the hopeless romanticism in the air.

And he’s so, so embarrassed about it.

“Nothing,” Obi-Wan replies, perhaps a little too curt. He can practically feel Padme raise an eyebrow at him as he turns his back on her again, sorting the stacks of paper he had printer earlier. That Anakin had helped him print, actually, after their conversation.

“Mhm.” Padme countered, her heels clacking as she entered his classroom. Obi-Wan swears that she only wears heels for the specific purpose of the intimidating clack of them.

“You’re brooding.”

“I am not _brooding_ ,” Obi-Wan made a face. He wasn’t brooding, and he certainly wasn’t going to tell Padme about his encounter with Anakin. She would never let him live it down.

“Sure.” Padme regarded him with a searching look as Obi-Wan knelt down to unpack his dry erase markers. He narrowly avoided rolling his eyes at her.

“Maybe, I’m just very tired because of the sleep schedule adjustment,” Obi-Wan offers, unloading items onto his desk. Padme regards him from the other side, arms crossed and hip popped.

“Or _maybe_ , you disappeared under mysterious circumstances right when Qui-Gon and I needed you most, and left us to suffer with that disgusting printer.” Padme quirked an eyebrow, hand now planted firmly on his desk. “Considered that?”

Obi-Wan sighed, setting down his stapler and running a hand through his hair. He did feel at least marginally bad about leaving his friends to wrestle with the printer alone.

“Listen, I’m sorry, but sometimes in great battle, one must know when to retreat,” Obi-Wan offered with a shrug. Padme snorted.

“Oh, wise Obi-Wan, why didn’t you transfer over to the history department?” She laughed, only half-sarcastic. Padme and Bail had been dropping hints that Obi-Wan should switch departments for years. “But really, what happened?”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “Headed down to the Makers’ Studio to make copies. Met this… strange new guy.” Obi-Wan had no idea how to describe Anakin. He was strange, for sure. And young. And very attractive. But he couldn’t give Padme any ideas. She’s the type who needs to investigate and dig into every interpersonal relationship between colleagues.

“New guy?” Padme asked. She was trying to hide her own interest, but it was clear on her face that she was intrigued. Obi-Wan couldn’t help it, he laughed.

“Yeah. Apparently he’s fresh out of college and they hired him for robotics,” Obi-Wan added, knowing that the gossip would effectively distract Padme from any shred of interest Obi-Wan might display.

“Robotics? Oh, Ferus has to be throwing a fit.”

Obi-Wan laughed harder. “Mmm, Kit told me on Friday about some new teacher that was taking over robots that left Ferus all frazzled, but I had expected some old fart, not…” Obi-Wan trailed off, at a loss for words. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan was never at a loss for words, and Padme raised an eyebrow at the slip-up.

“Not what?”

“Not… some first year teacher who told me multiple times during our short meeting that he has ‘no idea’ what he was doing,” Obi-Wan replied. He internally winced, since he didn’t mean to share that comment with anyone else when Anakin had admitted his doubts. He felt a bit ashamed that in his haste to hide whatever passing crush he was experiencing, that he had already betrayed the young man’s trust.

Padme chuckled at that, leaning heavily against Obi-Wan’s desk as she shook her head. “Oh, that sounds like some kind of bomb ready to go off. Either the rest of the STEM guys are gonna love him or absolutely despise him.” Padme’s eyes twinkled with the promise of drama. Although Obi-Wan didn’t consider her a dedicated gossip, she, like many of his colleagues, absolutely adored when hardship fell on the STEM departments as a whole. With the exception of Asajj and Kit, the vast majority of them tended to especially look down on Padme, not only for her choice in department, but also for her gender. The hate that woman held for Dooku knew no bounds.

“It’s certainly going to lead to something. At least he seems nice,” Obi-Wan offered. He immediately regretted it as Padme leveled him with a searching look.

“Nice?”

“Yes, we had a pleasant conversation,” Obi-Wan tried to deflect. That only made Padme’s grin grow wider.

“Oh, I don’t think you like him just because of the stir he’s going to cause in the STEM wing, Obi-Wan,” Padme jabbed. Obi-Wan refused to take the bait.

“Unlike you, I like to give new members of the STEM departments a chance before I write them off as uncultured bastards,” Obi-Wan replied, shoving two containers of binder clips into his desk drawer.

“Do you pay special attention to young, pleasant members of the STEM department?” Padme teased, the mirth clear as day on her face.

“Miss Amidala, if you don’t cease with these baseless accusations I’ll-“

“You’ll what, make me listen to your flowery love poetry?”

“I am going to gut you with a spoon.”

“Oh, I’d love to see you try.”

The banter broke with Obi-Wan’s laughter. As embarrassed as he was, Padme was his good friend, and judging by her giggles, she just loved to push his buttons more than anything else.

“OK but seriously… is he hot?”

“Padme Amidala, I thought you were the epitome of professionalism!”

“Obi-Wan, I swear to Christ I will knock these papers on the floor like some kind of shitty cat if you don’t start answering me straight,” Padme wagged a finger at him this time, and now Obi-Wan knew she was serious about the whole thing.

“Alright, alright. He’s almost unbelievably attractive. He makes me think that Palpatine’s starting to hire for the eye candy,” Obi-Wan admitted, and Padme snorted.

“You have _got_ to be exaggerating.”

“I swear to you, he’s so pretty it hurts.” Obi-Wan had his serious face on now, and he didn’t even care that he was admitting to such a ridiculous crush. “He’s also a complete and utter doofus.”

“Good God, he sounds adorable.”

“That’s what I’m trying to say, Padme! I don’t know why he’s here! Much less why he’s been offered such a prestigious position. I think the universe is playing some kind of sick joke on us. Especially since he’s one of _them_.” Obi-Wan emphasized with a nod of his head and a roll of his eyes, and Padme immediately recognized his own, slightly more muted, disdain for the STEM teachers.

“I’ll have to see him for myself.” She declared, nodding as if she had come up with a particularly good talking point to bring up during debate club, instead of deciding to go out of her way and oogle the poor new kid.

“I’m sure they’ll introduce him at the next meeting. Palpatine will have to, with the amount of ruckus he’s causing with all of this.” Padme nodded again.

“True, true. Well, we certainly do have a year ahead of us, huh, Obi-Wan?”

“Oh yes, we certainly do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of a filler chapter, but i'm working on the next one and it should be out soon, so you won't be left on this for long!


	4. all-faculty meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Palpatine's all-faculty meeting causes quite the stir at a certain table in the back of the cafeteria.

The first all-faculty meeting of the year is always a clusterfuck, and this year’s should be no exception. Obi-Wan would make sure to sit at the opposite end of the lunchroom from where Palpatine would be giving his speech, secreted away between Padme and Qui-Gon so he could eat his yogurt and browse online shops in peace. Nothing noteworthy was ever covered in the meetings anyway – it was all “the role of the school nurse” and “how Coruscant compares to other schools in the area” and various accolades his colleagues had accomplished in the past school year.

He sighed, dragged his feet as he made his way to the front door, key card in hand. Even though all he had to do was sit still and stay quiet, he loathed tiresome meetings. He would rather be planning with the rest of his department, or at least doing something with merit. Whenever it was something this dull, he always had to mentally prepare himself for the sheer onslaught of dull.

“Obi-Wan!”

The shout was so loud, Obi-Wan practically dropped his keys. He started, whipping his head around to see who had yelled at 6:30 in the morning.

The anger all but dissolved when he saw dirty blond curls and a bright smile. It was Anakin, decked out in actual teaching attire this time, cross-body bag bouncing as he jogged to catch up with Obi-Wan.

“Anakin?” Obi-Wan replied, a little laugh in his voice. First year teachers always did funny things, and it seemed that Anakin was no exception.

“Yeah! Good morning,” Anakin smiled at him, nodding as Obi-Wan scanned his key card and Anakin grabbed the door. “Sorry for scaring you – I don’t have a card yet, so I can’t get in by myself.”

Obi-Wan snorted at that. “That’s not very good, is it?”

“No, it really sucks. Sheev said that I’ll probably get it by the end of the week though.”

“ _Sheev_?” Obi-Wan couldn’t help himself, the incredulity was palpable in his voice. Absolutely no one called Palpatine by his first name, except for maybe Dooku. Hearing it fall out of Anakin’s mouth left him lost, caught between shock and ridiculousness that Anakin, of all people, would be using Palpatine’s first name – and the sinking feeling in his gut.

“Uh, yeah?” Anakin fumbled with his bag a little as he tried to keep his stride even with Obi-Wan’s. “Sheev Palpatine, you know, the principal? I talked to him about it on Tuesday.”

“Oh, I know who you’re talking about,” Obi-Wan replied. For once, he had no idea how to go about this conversation. Should he be worried about Anakin? Anakin, who was currently giving him a worried puppy-dog stare. Obi-Wan sighed, then smiled at the younger man, trying to calm him down. There was no need for either of them to be concerned at the moment. Palpatine was a little odd, maybe, but he wasn’t a horrible person. He was probably just trying to be nice to Anakin… right?

“I just always call him Palpatine, I guess. Force of habit,” Obi-Wan shrugged, trying to brush it off. But Anakin was having none of it.

“Oh – should I do that too? I mean, he is technically my superior and everything. I’ve always been shit with authority,” he admitted it with a laugh, but this time it was confident. Obi-Wan was concerned that this was something Anakin was proud of, but it brought him some form of comfort. If Anakin wasn’t afraid of authority, there was only so much Palpatine could do that could harm the younger man.

“You may want to consider it,” Obi-Wan replied cryptically. He didn’t necessarily think Palpatine was incredibly concerned with how the other teachers addressed him, but Obi-Wan wasn’t interested in the familiarity a first name brought. Palpatine had instituted some regulations that made the humanities’ lives hell, so they weren’t too keen on him. But, Anakin _was_ a robotics teacher. Maybe he was kinder to STEM teachers.

“Thanks, man. You know, I’ve been taught a lot about how to deal with kids and write lessons and shit – but nobody ever tells you hot to deal with… I dunno. Administration? School culture?” Anakin waved his hands as he talked, but mostly Obi-Wan was concerned with his words, ones that Obi-Wan knew had rang true for him when he was Anakin’s age.

“Yes, I understand you,” Obi-Wan nodded. “When I was a first year teacher, I was roped into coaching soccer. Apparently, when you go to boarding school in England for five years, that equates to copious experience coaching soccer.”

Anakin laughed so hard he snorted. “They just-?”

“Oh, they did. Luckily I was working in a middle school at the time, and I was coaching the low-level team, but it was still just a bit embarrassing when you’re coaching soccer and don’t know what a corner kick entails.” Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows as he spoke, and that just made Anakin’s grin grow.

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” he chuckled, shifting the bag on his shoulder. Obi-Wan grinned back, proud of the fact that he had made Anakin smile so wide. He was so pretty when he grinned like that.

“Yes, yes it is. So, a word of advice for you – don’t coach middle school soccer.”

Anakin laughed again.

“Wise words. I think if I would ever get roped into coaching anything, it would probably be baseball,” Anakin nodded as he considered the hypothetical. “I technically had a scholarship for it in college.”

“Oh, that’s quite impressive.”

“It would have been, if I hadn’t broken my arm sophomore year. Did you know that when you lose a sports scholarship you have to pay for school? With money?” Anakin feigned shock as Obi-Wan chuckled.

“How did you even manage to break your arm?”

Anakin went red for only a second before he recovered his composure and shot Obi-Wan a smirk as he rounded the corner, the intersection of humanities and STEM wings fast approaching.

“Oh, now that’s for me to know and you to find out.”

Anakin laughed at he headed towards his classroom, and Obi-Wan was left with an arched eyebrow and a blush of his own. Now he was left with even more questions than before, and not just about Anakin’s broken arm – but was this man more confident than he initially seemed? Obi-Wan had assumed he was just a nervous new teacher, but this Anakin was a little different. Under those new-school nerves was a confidence that could definitely knock Obi-Wan on his ass if he didn’t watch his emotions.

He shook his head to clear it as Obi-Wan headed to drop his bags off. He couldn’t let the new guy get to him. He had work to do, he had kids to teach. He shouldn’t submit to mindless distractions as soon as they waltz into his workplace.

Obi-Wan set his bags down, and made his way to the cafeteria with Qui-Gon. The closer they got, the more people they ran into. Grievous was annoying some of the other STEM teachers, as per usual, and poor, elderly Yoda looked like he was already falling asleep as he shuffled into the caf, taking his seat closer to the front than Obi-Wan himself. True to his vision, the English teacher sat between Qui-Gon and Padme, prepared to either eat his snacks or browse Pinterest while Palpatine and various other school officials blathered on.

The meeting commenced as per usual. Obi-Wan tried to make himself invisible as he barely paid attention, more concerned with his Stardew Valley farm than anything else. He still paid some sort of attention, of course – he was the kind of person who would just absorb information like a sponge, no matter the importance. The familiar company of Padme and Qui-Gon was comforting, as Padme would make snide comments whenever possible, and Qui-Gon would snort whenever the presenter would notably snub some aspect of the humanities. By lunch, the most notable presentation had been Jar Jar’s presentation about the current state of Coruscant’s theater program – which was abysmal at best, even though the poor man tried to make the best of the situation. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but laugh at his misfortune. But really, Jar Jar had never been approved officially as a theater teacher – he was just thrust into the job, as many were. But Jar Jar had tried to just own it, and it led to a lot of ridicule from the other teachers.

Obi-Wan had barely recovered from Jar Jar nearly tripping and busting his ass on the cafeteria floor, when Palpatine took the mic again, this time looking far too jovial for a stupid faculty meeting.

“Now, I know we all need time to finish organizing our rooms for the upcoming school year, but first, we need to welcome our newest member of the Coruscant Tech team. Everyone, please give a warm welcome to Anakin Skywalker!” Palpatine motioned towards one of the tables in the front, and Anakin stood up, giving a little half-wave as he went.

“Anakin will be teaching mechanics for our trade school students, as well as Robotics 1. Although he’s a first year teacher, I’m very confident in his abilities and I hope you all will give him a warm Coruscant welcome!” Palpatine started the round of applause as he gestured towards Anakin, who bashfully nodded in the direction of the rest of the teachers before sitting back down. As the noise died down, Padme whistled softly next to Obi-Wan, before opening up the IM system that came with their emailing service. Obi-Wan sighed and waited for Padme’s fateful message.

**pamidal: damn, he really IS cute**

Obi-Wan stared at the IM, shaking his head in Padme’s direction before replying

**okenobi: i told you**

**pamidal: ok but when u said he was attractive i thought he was like.  
pamidal: YOU attractive**

**okenobi: what does that even mean**

**pamidal: oh u know**

Obi-Wan waited for an explanation. Padme continued to look forward, at Dooku giving a presentation about the current state of the STEM department and how someone (probably Asajj) kept stealing chemicals from the chemistry department.

When it was clear that Padme wasn’t going to say any more, Obi-Wan replied to her.

**okenobi: no, no i don’t.**

**pamidal: u have some strange taste, OW**

Obi-Wan considered the accusation, raising a brow and biting his lip. Did he have strange taste? He didn’t think so. He had normal taste! Perhaps he had a thing for so called “bad boys,” but Anakin was an upstanding citizen – a member of the STEM department and a first year teacher! He was practically a teddy bear, and not any sort of deviant at all.

**okenobi: i most certainly do NOT**

**pamidal: yes u do  
pamidal: remember that one dude that subbed for QG last year?  
pamidal: looked like a complete weirdo  
pamidal: but he had a motorcycle so u were into him**

Obi-Wan audibly gasped. The audacity.

**okenobi: that is NOT the only reason why i liked him. you’re just being rude.  
okenobi: and what makes anakin any different?**

**pamidal: well first of all**

Obi-Wan braced himself. Whenever Padme started a string of IMs like that, it was bound to be the length of a novella.

**pamidal: he looks like a big teddy bear  
pamidal: i mean that hair? very touchable. very soft looking.  
pamidal: the attitude? i mean, first year teacher, so obviously a LITTLE bit bashful  
pamidal: but still cute, even if he might not b naturally shy  
pamidal: also he looks like he works out every day  
pamidal: & u can TELL bc hes wearing well fitting shirts  
pamidal: ESPECIALLY the button up w the sleeves rolled up? iconic.   
pamidal: & he teaches mechanics & robotics?  
pamidal: BOUND to b good w his hands ;) **

Obi-Wan choked on his iced coffee. He choked on it so hard that Qui-Gon got concerned and slapped him on the back, all while Padme kept a straight face as Dooku continued to rage on about the moral responsibilities of educators towards the resources provided for their students.

**okenobi: you are a fucking DEMON  
okenobi: i almost died**

**pamidal: but answer me this OW – am I wrong?**

Obi-Wan tried to steel himself. He was not going to let Padme Amidala of all people bully him for his crush on another teacher. If it could even be _called_ a crush – it _shouldn’t_ be. Crushes were for high schoolers – his _students_ – not fully grown men. So what if he was now blushing ferociously imagining just how good Anakin could be with his hands. He was in control of his emotions and desires! It was just joking!

Obi-Wan was not going to be teased in such a way. He couldn’t let Padme win again when it came to making jabs at him.

**okenobi: why don’t you ask him if you’re so concerned about it**

Obi-Wan cringed as soon as he sent the message, mostly because Padme finally had to cover her mouth as she giggled.

**pamidal: OW, is that jealousy? r u jealous?  
pamidal: that’s so fuckin cute. god.**

**okenobi: what? no!  
okenobi: wait. wait. CUTE?**

**pamidal: LMAO FJVBER**

Padme was trying very, very hard to keep a straight face, but eventually she had to bury her face on her computer keyboard. It was only after a few breaths where she steadied herself that she was able to return to their conversation.

**pamidal: duh, look @ u  
pamidal: u obviously have some kind of feelings for him  
pamidal: & i havent seen u into somebody in forever  
pamidal: so yeah, its cute  
pamidal: & I ship it**

**okenobi: wait. what????  
okenobi: you SHIP it?  
okenobi: padme don’t you dare try anything  
okenobi: just because i find anakin attractive doesn’t mean I plan to act on it  
okenobi: he's a COLLEAGUE, padme. i can’t**

**pamidal: oh cry me a river  
pamidal: and stop w the holier than thou “i dont date other teachers” bs  
pamidal: live a little, u stick in the mud  
pamidal: im GOING to do everything in my power to put u in situations where u talk to him and can trip over ur own tongue and fall on ur ass and there is NOTHING u can do abt it**

**okenobi: you’re so fucking evil. i’m going to do everything in MY power to get you FIRED**

Padme laughed out loud at that, quickly covering her mouth before anyone else could notice. The fact that she could have been caught made Obi-Wan laugh, and he had to catch himself as well.

That was the thing about them – even if they did purposefully get on each other’s nerves, Padme was still one of Obi-Wan’s dearest friends and strongest supporters. She didn’t take any of his self-pitying bullshit, and she loved to push him outside of his comfort zone. But at the end of the day, they truly cared about each other.

He was glad that she supported the fact that he may, possibly, perhaps, have some kind of crush on the new guy. But he also really, truly hoped that she wouldn’t push him too far on it. He didn’t think Padme would – she usually knew what was too far – but the thought still made Obi-Wan’s gut twist. He hoped that maybe this would be the end of it – that Padme would tease him about it once, and then the school year would start and Obi-Wan could get engrossed in work, and never think about the whole situation ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a much longer chapter than usual - hope u enjoy it! i'm not entirely satisfied with my characterization of Padme, but just know i love her and the fact that she takes 0 shits.
> 
> also jar jar is a fucking theater teacher. no i do NOT take constructive criticism, this is a FACT


	5. an after-school discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ahsoka discussed her studies with obi-wan... and anakin, as well.
> 
> anakin runs into obi-wan and kit at the bar. hi-jinks ensue.

Obi-Wan was at least partially correct in his assumption that once the school year started, he could completely forget about Anakin Skywalker.

It made sense. He was in the humanities wing, fucking Newt for binder clips and dealing with the fact that the door to his classroom still didn’t lock right despite putting a work order in _last_ October. Anakin was in the STEM wing, on the far side where Ferus’s classroom resided, as well as the garage where all the mechanics classes took place. He was probably dealing with his own problems as a first year teacher, especially one that had to deal with sharing a room with Ferus, on top of all that.

For the first two weeks, there really, honestly was too much going on for the two to cross paths. If Obi-Wan wasn’t making copies, he was in his classroom, dealing with swathes of young minds that didn’t yet know how to think for themselves. He was engrossed in creating a challenging curriculum for them – assessing their current skill sets and concocting a plan of action to address their deficiencies and play on their strengths.

Honestly, it wasn’t until a Wednesday after the last class of the day that Anakin even crossed his mind again.

On that day in particular, his last class was creative writing. It was a very small group of students, consider the class didn’t count as a fine arts credit, and only served as an English elective. Not many students would choose to take an elective that had nothing to do with their track within a technical school, but Obi-Wan felt a special connection with the students who did. Even if they weren’t the most talented writers, he appreciated the fact that they chose his class instead of being shoved into it without their consent.

One of those students had been attached to Obi-Wan since he had first met her. When students liked to hang out with Obi-Wan during their lunch hour, or after class, he affectionately called them “student parasites” – since they kind of were. There was no need for them to spend their free time with teachers, yet some of them chose to.

This one in particular was named Ahsoka Tano, and she was one of his brightest students. She was one of the brightest juniors in general, as an engineering track with a special interest in robotics, she was a member of one of the most exclusive tracks within Coruscant Tech – and on top of that, she was an extremely skilled writer, as well as captain of the varsity lacrosse team, and a member of student council. And of all the teachers to latch on to, she had chosen Obi-Wan. And, apparently, Anakin as well.

“Hey, Kenobi?” she asked between bites of her energy bar. “Have you met Mr. Skywalker yet? The new robotics teacher?”

Obi-Wan took a second to look up from the papers he was grading and blink. He hadn’t thought about Anakin in days.

“Yes, I’ve met him,” Obi-Wan replied, wondering where this conversation was going.

“OK, so, don’t talk about this outside this room. I know you won’t, but still,” Ahsoka requested, leveling Obi-Wan with a serious look. Obi-Wan crossed his heart, and Ahsoka must have believed him, so she continued.

“So, I was skeptical about his at first, since he was so young. I don’t know about you, Mr. Kenobi, but I’ve had some really bad experiences with new teachers. They just don’t know how to interact with people! Or teach! It’s so frustrating!” Ahsoka threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

“No, I know what you mean. It takes a while to adapt to a new environment. Every class is different – it can be hard to adjust to a new school culture.” Obi-Wan always tried to be the voice of reason for his students, but Ahsoka shook her head.

“I know, I know, but listen. Like, I thought this new Skywalker guy was gonna be like that – you know, like he would try his best and all, but it would be kinda awkward.” Ahsoka took another bite of her snack, and shook her head while she chewed, thinking of which words to use. “And I definitely didn’t want to like him, because all the other girls keep talking about how cute he is, and just, _hurk_ -“ Ahsoka stuck a finger in her open mouth and Obi-Wan chuckled.

“But he’s actually really, really cool!” Ahsoka all but wailed. “Like, he doesn’t take any shit from the kids that like to make trouble, but he’s also super chill, and he just knows so much? Like, OK, Mr. Grievous knows a lot about robotics, but he has no idea how to explain any of it. But Skyguy, he just-“

“Wait. _Skyguy_?” Obi-Wan couldn’t keep the teasing smile off his face. Ahsoka couldn’t help but blush.

“I can’t help it! It rhymes! And he’s just so nice, and everything he says makes sense! Even when I think that whatever he’s saying would never, ever work – I try it and it works better than what I thought would! It’s ridiculous! Everyone loves him!” Ahsoka seems genuinely concerned about all of this – or, maybe not concerned, but perhaps shocked and confused. Obi-Wan just grinned at her.

“I’m glad he’s good at his job,” Obi-Wan replied. He had wondered how Anakin would fare with students, considering how nervous he was, and how he floundered when it came to administration. But it seemed like the actual teaching part of the job was where Anakin thrived. He trusted Ahsoka’s judgement on the matter – if she said Anakin was a good teacher, _especially_ if she had a nickname for him, he trusted her.

“I’m glad to hear that you’re having good experiences with him,” Obi-Wan replied with a smile, as he looked back at his grading.

“He reminds me of you, kind of,” Ahsoka continued. “I mean, obviously, he’s teaching something completely different, and, like, OK, your styles are a little different when it comes to like, teaching and dealing with people, but-“

Obi-Wan laughed again. “How does that even make any sense?”

“Hear me out, OK!” Ahsoka pleaded, holding her hand out to Obi-Wan again. “I think maybe it’s because he actually cares about the kids? Like, he wants us all to succeed. And I feel like you do the same thing! But some of the teachers here – well, you’ve heard me say that they literally don’t help anyone that’s struggling and think that their class is literally the most important thing in the universe.”

“I may have remembered something about that,” Obi-Wan joked back, and Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say, is that you would probably be good friends! I mean, I wanna make my final project for this quarter to do with creative writing, so you’ll probably have to deal with him anyway,” Ahsoka took a sip of her juice box as Obi-Wan finally looked up at her again, an eyebrow quirked.

“How in god’s name will your final _robotics_ project have anything to do with _creative writing_?” Obi-Wan questioned, still incredulous that now his students were trying to pull Anakin and him together.

“This quarter we’re working on software, so I’m designing something that will give you writing prompts based on questions you answer on a short quiz.”

“What does that even have to do with robotics?”

“AI is strongly associated with robotics! Get with the program, Kenobi!” Ahsoka replied, shaking her juice box at him. Obi-Wan held his hands up in defeat.

“Anyway, I’m probably gonna need your help coming up with some of the prompts and things, since you’re a lot better at it than I am, so I might ask you to head over to the robotics lab with me…” Ahsoka trailed off, giving Obi-Wan her best puppy dog eyes. Obi-Wan sighed.

“So, what you’re telling me, is you want to waste even more of my time after school?”

“But only for your favorite student,” Ahsoka countered, and Obi-Wan snorted.

“Of course I’ll help. You’ll just have to let me know in advance. And Mr. Skywalker as well. We wouldn’t want to barge in on him unannounced.”

“Of course! Don’t worry, Mr. Kenobi, I know what I’m doing,” Ahsoka promised, with a confident nod of her head. Obi-Wan screamed internally – when was he going to be rid of Anakin Skywalker? Even one of his best students has been charmed by him. It’s almost too much for him to take.

It perhaps became even worse the next time he met Kit for drinks.

“So, how have your first two weeks been, Kit?” Obi-Wan asked, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt. It was always stiflingly warm in the bar, even before he got some drinks in him.

“Interesting, to say the least,” Kit snorted, already taking a swig of his drink. Obi-Wan laughed.

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Ferus is getting more and more pissed with every waking hour he has to spend in the vicinity of the new guy. I’d say it was fucking hilarious if I wasn’t his designated therapist, apparently,” Kit rolled his eyes, and Obi-Wan laughed harder.

“He’s coming to _you_?”

“He said something about the fact that since I deal in the ‘soft sciences’ that I would be more understanding.” Kit made a face, and Obi-Wan laughed so hard he almost fell over.

“Fuck, overly serious STEM teachers get me every time,” Obi-Wan grinned at Kit, and the biology teacher glowered back.

“It’s exhausting. Half the time I just want to yell ‘why don’t you just fuck Skywalker and get all this unnecessary tension out of your system!’”

Obi-Wan choked on his drink, legitimately choked, and it took at least a solid 30 seconds of coughing – Kit patting his back, a little concerned – until he was finally able to talk again.

“Too much?” Kit asked. Obi-Wan nodded, and Kit laughed at his misfortune.

“I mean, it’s not unwarranted with the way Ferus talks about him. Half of his complaints are about how Skywalker’s younger than him – and more attractive, even if he doesn’t use those terms exactly.” Kit shrugged, laughing a little to himself. “I think that he’s a little jealous that Anakin’s holding the attention as the ‘dreamboat teacher’ now.”

Obi-Wan shook his head, still getting over his blush. “That’s ridiculous. What teacher wants to be harassed by students like that.” Almost every teacher under the age of 40 Obi-Wan knew has had an unwanted admirer at one point or another. He remembered his own with chagrin – it was always so hard to teach a student that was so focused on approval and acceptance from a teacher in a way they couldn’t provide. Keeping the student at arm’s length while at the same time trying to help them do their best – it was always a problem. That’s why he appreciated students like Ahsoka – she liked to hang around with teachers, but it was because she craved knowledge, not anything else.

Kit shook his head. “I have no idea. I’m glad that I’m too old for many of the to give a shit about me anymore. But this poor guy – I get kids coming into my class and passing around creepshots of him.”

“Creepshots?” Obi-Wan must have looked concerned, because Kit immediately burst into more laughter.

“Not _those_ kind of creepshots – just like ‘oh, Mr. Skywalker had his _sleeves_ rolled up’ ‘oh, his hair looks so _soft_ in this one-‘ ugh,” Kit shook his head, rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Technically, you can’t do anything about it because there’s nothing actually wrong with the pictures, but like. It’s still disgusting to hear in your classroom.”

“I guess I’m lucky that it’s been kept to a minimum in mine,” Obi-Wan mumbled. It actually made him a little concerned that Anakin was getting so much attention. Did he know how to handle it? Did he know how to spot an unreasonable admirer from an eager student? Obi-Wan shouldn’t care so much about the younger teacher, but he didn’t want anything to happen to him just because of naivety.

“Yeah, count yourself lucky. The STEM wing is a mess. I’d say you should stop by just to observe the chaos, but it’s legitimately too much at this point. I don’t know how much more I can handle between the horny kids and the irritated teachers.” Kit actually buried his face in his arms on the table, so all Obi-Wan could see were his dreads. Obi-Wan wanted to laugh, but all he could do was smile. He knew that Kit was being a little dramatic, but still, things like this really were draining.

Obi-Wan was about to change the topic by ragging on his AP 11 kids, who can’t seem to form an original opinion for the life of them, when Obi-Wan and Kit’s Friday drink session was so rudely interrupted.

“Obi-Wan? Is that you?”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and braced himself. He hadn’t heard that voice in around two weeks, but god, if he didn’t know it by heart already. Even Kit looked up from his pity pile on the table, an eyebrow raised. Obi-Wan schooled his face into a gentle smile and turned to face Anakin.

“Anakin? What are you doing here?”

The younger teacher was holding what looked like a rum and coke, his hair even more tousled and his dress shirt unbuttoned a bit to reveal the T-shirt underneath. Obi-Wan couldn’t read whatever was on it in the low light, but it looked like the logo of some sports team.

Anakin grinned back, clearly incredibly happy to have found the two teachers. “Oh, I’m supposed to meet Asajj here for drinks! But, it’s been like fifteen minutes, so-“ Anakin raised his drink. Obi-Wan snorted and moved his chair to the side.

“Well, pull up a seat, because Asajj is usually at least an hour and a half late when it comes to things like this,” Obi-Wan replied. Kit snorted, nodding his approval.

“Are you serious?” Anakin asked, pulling up a chair next to Obi-Wan and setting his drink on the table. He was close enough now that Obi-Wan could see grease stains on his collar and the cuffs of his sleeves.

“Oh, very serious. Asajj is a documented flake. Especially if she said she was bringing friends. It’s very likely that she’ll just end up hanging out with her girlfriend and completely forgetting about any other plans she had.”

Anakin sighed and sank back in his chair, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, you learn something new every day,” he tried to put on a sarcastic smile, but it was clear he was a little disappointed in himself. Obi-Wan laughed anyway.

“It’s alright, we had to learn the hard was as well.”

“I had to learn the very hard way,” Kit mumbled into his drink and Obi-Wan snorted, almost choking on his own drink.

“Oh, that’s right! You thought she was into you!” Obi-Wan pointed at Kit, who gave him a withering look. Anakin chuckled.

“Asajj? She’s like the most blatant lesbian I’ve ever seen,” Anakin added, and Kit groaned.

“Alright, I’m a stupid straight man, so sue me! But I still had it worse than either of you!” Kit pointed to Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Anakin laughed while Obi-Wan huffed.

“And it was all due to your own stupidity,” Obi-Wan added, and Anakin almost choked on his drink laughing. Obi-Wan briefly considered the fact that he would have to watch his alcohol intake around Anakin, especially when he looked like that – all disheveled and effortless – and acted like _that_ – laughing at all of Obi-Wan’s jokes, and smiling at him with that stupid, pretty face.

Oh, how he wished this wasn’t already his second glass of bourbon.

“Disregarding my horrible fucking gaydar – Anakin.” Kit leaned forward, gesturing to the younger man. Anakin leaned in too, eager to be addressed. “How have your first couple of weeks been? I haven’t seen you around much, but I’ve heard… well, I’ve heard things.”

Kit Fisto, four drinks in, has no hope of watching his alcohol intake.

“Things?” Anakin raised an eyebrow, obviously trying to seem confident, but unable to quite get there because of the new job jitters.

“Oh, you know,” Kit offered, gesturing vaguely. Anakin looked between Kit and Obi-Wan, obviously confused.

“We’ve heard you’ve been causing quite a stir among your students,” Obi-Wan added, his comment vague enough that Anakin would be able to make of it what he would. And boy, did he. Anakin’s eyes seemed to light up as he grinned bright.

“I have? I mean, they seem to like me – I still haven’t quite nailed down all of the names yet, but they seem really eager to learn. Especially my mechanics class. I mean, everyone seems to think that I would be more excited for robotics, since it’s more ‘prestigious’ – “ Anakin emphasized this with air quotes and a sarcastic tone, “- but mechanics is just so much better? Everyone’s so laid back, and they truly want to learn. Robotics, I feel like a lot of them just took it because they thought they were supposed to, and they have no real idea what to do, and would rather fool around with their friends. But mechanics? Those kids came to work.”

Anakin nods and takes a sip of his drink, and Obi-Wan and Kit share a look. It wasn’t necessarily a surprised or concerned look, but just one that conveyed simply how impressed and also confused they were. Anakin expressing his distaste for the robotics kids that just got shoved into his class shows some aspect of maturity, but he still hasn’t mentioned his hordes of raging fangirls, which worried Obi-Wan especially.

“Oh, and I’ve been meaning to ask – is it normal for kids here to come and try to talk after school? Because I’m getting a lot of those,” Anakin seemed concerned, and Obi-Wan let out a little breath he didn’t know he had been holding. At least Anakin knew to ask about this sort of thing.

“Well, that depends,” Kit replied before Obi-Wan got the chance to open his mouth. “Do they want to talk about school related things, or about your personal life?”

Obi-Wan can’t help but be impressed at drunk Kit’s eloquence. He really did manage to just get to the heart of it.

Anakin considered it, hand over his chin as he wondered.

“Well, there are some that genuinely want more help. There’s a junior girl that seems really excited about robotics-“

“Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan asked without thinking, and Anakin turned to him, eyes wide as he nodded.

“Yeah, do you know her?”

“She’s in my creative writing class this semester,” Obi-Wan replied. He took the chance to grin at Anakin knowingly. “She’s taken quite the liking to your class, even if she was skeptical at first.”

Anakin blushed, and Obi-Wan couldn’t tell if it was because of the smile or the compliment. “Really?” Anakin asked, ruffling his hair as if he didn’t know what to do with himself. “She’s one of my weirder students – and by that, I mean she’s always super critical of everything I teach, but it’s really rewarding when I help her out and everything just clicks. It seems like she’s really, honestly interested in what we do.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes, Ahsoka is pretty much just a sponge for knowledge. I’m sure if she had the opportunity to take every class we offered, she would.”

Anakin chuckled at that, but then shook his head, turning to Kit again. “But she seems to be the exception to that rule. Most of the other kids – I mean, to be fair, they’re mostly girls – at first I thought they wanted help with their projects, since most of them end up trying to goof off in class. But now they’ve been trying to ask for my Instagram – “

“Oh, big red flag,” Kit blurted out. Obi-Wan nodded and Anakin pressed his face into his hands.

“I mean, I don’t want to assume anything, but I think they –“

“They’re trying to get with you? Yeah,” Kit butted in again, swigging his drink. Obi-Wan might have to cut him off soon. “I’ve heard some things in my own classroom.”

Anakin groaned, face still in his hands. “I don’t _get_ it. When I was in school, no one would even _think_ about… that.”

Obi-Wan laughed at the poor man’s misfortune, patting him on the shoulder. “It’s alright, we all go through it. Before you got here, Ferus was receiving the brunt of it.”

“I wish he still was. God, I hate that guy. I mean –“ Anakin shook his head again, leaning against the table. “I don’t wanna start shit, but that guy is such a _dick_.”

Obi-Wan and Kit couldn’t help it – they just looked at each other and burst out laughing. God, Anakin was cute. And trying so, so hard to be professional. It was hilarious.

Anakin cracked a grin when he saw the two older teachers laughing at his admission. “Oh, so I’m not the only one?” He smirked at Obi-Wan, and the man tried very hard not to choke on his own spit at that expression. God, did Anakin even know how pretty he was?

“He’s not my first choice in friends, I can tell you that much,” Kit offered, nudging his drink towards Anakin. The younger teacher laughed again before taking a sip of his own drink.

“And you, Obi-Wan?” he asked. He always seemed to interested in Obi-Wan’s opinion – or maybe, he was just thinking too far into it. He was new, and Obi-Wan was a veteran. It made sense that Anakin would want his opinion on such matters.

“Truth be told, I haven’t interacted with him much. But I do believe that lack of interaction stems from his disinterest in the humanities, so I don’t disagree with your label of dick,” Obi-Wan replied with a small upturn of his mouth. This send Anakin into a fit of laughter, clutching his chair and then biting his lip when he regained his balance, looking at Obi-Wan. Oh, dear lord.

“You’re always so eloquent, you English teacher,” Anakin teased, laughing at him some more. Obi-Wan must have pouted, because even Kit was laughing at him now.

“Oh, oh I like this one,” Kit guffawed, wrapping an arm around Anakin. The younger man only stiffened for a second before returning the gesture, patting Kit on the shoulder as well. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes both at the childish display of camaraderie as well as the taunts directed towards him.

“You’re both ridiculous,” Obi-Wan huffed, sipping his drink. They both just continued to laugh, Anakin’s bright smile directed towards him as Obi-Wan tried to ignore his shine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry for the lack of plot. here, take this super long chapter... with still, no plot in sight. i know, bro.


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